Description

This book explores the central role of the zombie in contemporary popular culture as they appear in video games. Moving beyond traditional explanations of their enduring appeal – that they embody an aesthetic that combines horror with a mindless target; that lower age ratings for zombie games widen the market; or that Artificial Intelligence routines for zombies are easier to develop – the book provides a multidisciplinary and comprehensive look at this cultural phenomenon.

Drawing on detailed case studies from across the genre, contributors from a variety of backgrounds offer insights into how the study of zombies in the context of video games informs an analysis of their impact on contemporary popular culture. Issues such as gender, politics, intellectual property law, queer theory, narrative storytelling and worldbuilding, videogame techniques and technology, and man’s relation to monsters are closely examined in their relation to zombie video games.

Breaking new ground in the study of video games and popular culture, this volume will be of interest to researchers in a broad range of areas including media, popular culture, video games, and media psychology.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Zombies zombies everywhere, what is one to think?

Stephen Webley

Zombies, again? A qualitative analysis of the zombie antagonist’s appeal in game design

Matthew Barr

Resurrecting "Obsolete" Video Game Techniques from Alone in the Dark and Resident Evil

Matt Barton

The Undead Past in the Present – Historical Anxiety and the Nazi Zombie

Adam Chapman

The Zombification of Skyrim

Penny de Byl

Fantasies of Full Employment: Zombies, Video Games, and Violent Labor

Michael Epp

Resident Evil and Infectious Fear

Christina Fawcett and Alan McGreevy

Zombie video games, Eros, and Thanatos: Expressing and exploring the life and death drives through video gameplay

Vanessa Haddad

Through the Eyes of the Other: The Relationship between Man and Monster in Siren: Blood Curse

Madelon Hoedt

Dead Rising and the Gameworld Zombie

Kristine Jørgensen

Proliferation, Blockages, and Paths of Escape in Resident Evil and Call of Duty

About the Series

Games studies is now firmly established as a popular, important and significant area of study in the academic world. Bringing together theories and thought from a wide range of disciplines, this series features cutting-edge research addressing the major issues in game studies today.